Destiny and the Fire Maiden
by Yak of Darkness
Summary: Set between the two arcs of the Sailor Moon R series: Rei’s thoughts on the battle with Beryl, friendship, love, and the powerful evil that she senses coming. *Complete and Edited*
1. Part 1

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:  
I own Sailor Moon and all of the charact--oh, wait, no I don't. I own absolutely nothing of any kind. The characters within are Naoko's creations, and the story itself is mine.

This is part one of the story. Part two will be up tomorrow, barring any horrible malaise. Reviews and comments are appreciated, either on this site or through e-mail at yakofdarkness@yahoo.com. Enjoy the story. ~YoD

Destiny and the Fire Maiden

By Yak of Darkness

Hino Rei had forgotten how beautiful Tokyo looked when it was lit up at night. From her window view, the city dazzled like a neon carnival. The brightly colored lights shouted of all the wonders that could be found in the buildings below—shopping sprees, all night partying at clubs, and romantic evenings for two . . .

The last was the reason that Rei was here tonight, in the elegant restaurant atop the tallest skyscraper hotel in Japan. She was still in awe over how perfect this night had been. Renting a paddleboat at the pond had turned into an evening horse-drawn carriage ride through the park's forested trails, and now this wonderful dinner. For the first time in almost a year, Rei felt happy and at peace.

There was no Dark Kingdom to worry about tonight. There were no aliens, or youma, or Cardians. There were no destinies or Sailor Soldiers. Rei was not Sailor Mars tonight; she was just a beautiful girl in a new red silk dress sitting across from the handsome man she had fallen for.

Rei looked across the table and saw his bright blue eyes absorbed in their gaze into hers. "What are you thinking about, Mamo-chan?" she asked.

Chiba Mamoru smiled. "Sorry," he said, twirling some pasta onto his fork, "you just look too beautiful tonight not to admire."

Rei tried to hide her blushing by wiping her mouth off with her napkin. Tonight had been an endless stream of compliments on her beauty, grace, spirit, and power. Mamoru had praised her so much that it was almost too much—almost, she thought with an unavoidable giggle. She had dated Mamoru sporadically before, when she had still just become Sailor Mars, but she never knew the depths of his feelings for her until tonight. She had figured that any feelings Mamoru harbored had been drowned by the memories of their shared past—and by his memories of Usagi.

But that was all gone. Rei had her Mamo-chan, and nothing else mattered. The whole night had a beautiful surreal quality about it, and Rei loved every minute of it. She was about to ask Mamoru if they could end their night together just staring up at the stars, but blinked at the sudden intense glare that shone off of his eyes. It was bright, surprisingly bright. She felt every light from the Tokyo skyline reflecting off of Mamoru's eyes and into hers. She wanted to look at him, but had to turn away from the fierce shine. Rei tried to close her eyes, but the yellow glow pierced her eyelids, threatening to tear everything she had away from her. Rei couldn't let that happen. She tried to fight it. She screamed—

Rei woke up in her bedroom in the Hikawa Shrine, sunbeams shining through her bedroom window. She sighed. It was all a dream. That was all _anything_ felt like anymore—just a futile dream.

***

Rei ran through the motions of beginning her day at the temple. She threw on her white and red robes, tried without luck to get her hair to lie down before finally tying it back, and went out to the front of the shrine to sweep the steps. She loved the connection with nature that she felt at the shrine, but it didn't even begin to take away from the seemingly endless, robotic, and monotonous nature of her work. Yuuichirou was going to be in downtown Tokyo all day, looking for food and supplies and handing out brochures about the temple, while Rei's grandfather was out in the woods, trying once again to teach a special martial arts class to a group of female students, leaving Rei alone for the day.

It would not be so bad, though, she thought. Ami was going to be coming by later to help Rei study for entrance exams. The tests were more than a year away, but Ami had insisted that all her friends start working on them now, and Rei had nothing better to do today. Until then, her twin crows could keep her company.

She continued her rhythmic, dreamlike sleeping, with Phobos and Diemos occasionally perching on her shoulders to talk about their adventures in the woods. The birds flew freely over Tokyo's cityscape. They spent their time away from the shrine soaring above the rest of the world, feeling warm air under their wings. They had no other goal in life but to fly . . .

Rei shouted and tossed the broom to the temple's steps. She was restless and bored. With the Makaiju twins defeated and school on break, Rei and her broom had become far too well acquainted with one another for her tastes. She took the band out of her hair and shook the long, ebony strands out. Her fire had gone dormant and atrophied, and she needed to release it.

But first, she needed to reconnect with her primal, spiritual self. Not as Hino Rei or Sailor Mars, but as her true essence, whatever it may be.

***

The fire in the shrine's inner sanctum burned brightly as Rei focused her energy and chi while staring into the blaze. Through all of Rei's life, the flames had shown her the future, shown Rei her destiny. Now, she wanted to divine her present, to see what she was and what she could be.

"_Rin_, _pyou_, _tou_," she murmured, staring into the heart of the fire.

"_Sha_, _kai_, _jin_," Rei's voice escalated as her incantation grew stronger.

"_Retsu_, _sai_, _ZEN!_" she shouted, the flames leaping to punctuate her chant. Her eyes glazed over as visions filled her mind. In the smoke, she saw herself as Sailor Mars. She could feel the presence of a monster . . .

The flickering fire began to twirl and leap from the altar.

. . . Multiple creatures surrounded Rei, crawling across the ground, talons scraping at her legs. She charged a Fire Soul and blasted them away. The beasts screamed as they scattered, and a tall man with hair that seemed to dance with the fire took their place . . .

The flames began to swirl in a whirlwind around Rei.

. . . Rei clasped her hands together, trying to form a Fire Soul Bird. The strange man slowly drew closer to Rei, and an unearthly shout boomed in the background . . .

The burning tempest surrounding Rei began to scream and spin out of control.

. . . The man absorbed the Rei's phoenix into his body and laughed. With a wave of his hands, he lifted Rei in the air and spread her arms out to the side. Rei tried to scream but found her voice was silent. Her hands felt cold and began to tingle. Rei twisted her head and, to her shock, found that a translucent blue crystal was forming around her arms, freezing them in place. She struggled to break free, but the stone held her captive. Another shock of cold hit her from behind, and Rei was finally able to scream—

"Are you okay, Rei?" a familiar overly boisterous voice called out from behind her.

Rei's robes were soaking wet, and her drenched hair dripped puddles onto the shrine's floor. She looked down and saw that she was kneeling in a pool of dirty water. Rei shook her head. "Usagi . . ." she grumbled.

Rei turned and saw Usagi standing at the back of the room, one of the buckets that was used to catch water running out of a leaky gutter in her hands. "There was a lot of fire," she explained, obviously quite pleased with what she had done. "You're lucky I got here in time to save your life, Rei-chan."

Rei sighed and flicked water from her hands. "Usagi," she said slowly through gritted teeth, already feeling her daily reservoir of patience fading, "you have seen me meditate here a million times. The fire always jumps off of the altar, and it always goes back. Why did you feel the need to put it out?" Rei shouted the last few words.

Usagi was taken slightly aback by Rei's anger. "I know, Rei," she replied, "but you should have seen the fire. It was especially, uh . . . flame-y today." She put the bucket down on the floor. "You're mad now, but you _will_ thank me later."

"Usagi-chan," Rei groaned, "sometimes, I swear—" She cut herself off. "I'm going to get cleaned up," she said with a resigned tone, walking out of the room. "Do something useful and get some towels, please."

***

Rei's drive towards self-discovery had been dampened with the altar room, and she had resigned herself to spend the day working. The warm shower water helped to relax her a little bit, but Usagi undid whatever good it had accomplished through what must have been a physical aversion to _not_ bothering her. After the two had wiped the shrine's floor clean, Usagi decided to stay and hang around the temple for a while, and had been there, pestering Rei while she was trying to work, ever since.

"Hey, Rei-chan," Usagi asked, "do you ever think about the future? Like, are we going to be Sailor Soldiers all are lives, or will we all do other things when we grow up?"

Rei grumbled, sweeping harder. "I never have," she lied, praying Usagi would just leave. "All of the _work_ around here keeps my mind occupied."

Usagi giggled. "The only thing I _do_ know for sure is that Mamo-chan and I are going to stay together forever." Her mind wandered in a daydream for a moment before she snapped back to reality with a blushing smile. "Rei-chan," she said excitedly, "you have to hear what he said to me the other day, it was so cute!"

Rei sighed as she began to tune out what would inevitably be Usagi's ramblings about her plans for the future as a sailor-suited housewife with hundreds of bratty Chibi-Usagis running about. ". . . and we'll have a big house with a huge flower garden with different colored roses for every day of the year . . ."

"Wonderful," Rei muttered, ignoring how little sense that made.

". . . loves my cooking _so_ much! On Mondays, I can make odangos . . ."

"That's just super," Rei spat.

". . . impossible to find a man better than my Mamo-chan." Usagi sighed. "Everything is so perfect."

Something snapped deep inside Hino Rei. She flung her broom against the temple wall with a crash and glared at Usagi. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" she screamed. "Dammit, Usagi, I don't want to hear about how perfect things are. Of course you think everything's wonderful—you always get whatever you want." Usagi tried to respond, but Rei cut her off. "I'm just oh so very happy for the wonderful life that you and Mamoru are destined to have together," she said venomously, "and I'm glad you guys didn't let things like present-day relationships get in the way of a dream that ended more than _a thousand years ago!_"

Rei stormed away, leaving a speechless and hurt Usagi on the stone stairway at the Hikawa Shrine. She tromped over to the gate and saw Ami walking in the other direction, a load of textbooks in hand.

Ami paused when she saw the angered look on Rei's face. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Rei ignored the question. "Change of plans," she growled. "Help Usagi study or something . . . just keep her the hell away from me."

Ami was stunned by Rei's outburst, but before she could ask what had happened, Rei had left the shrine and dashed out of sight.


	2. Part 2

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:  
This is the second and final part of "Destiny and the Fire Maiden." Thanks for reading, and (once again) any and all reviews, comments, critiques, or constructive criticism are appreciated.

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Deep inside the Arctic Circle, the two surviving Sailor Soldiers slowly and painfully made their way up the last hill between them and Queen Beryl's fortress. Sailor Mars gritted her teeth and tried to fight back tears as she dragged a screaming Sailor Moon behind her. Sailors Jupiter and Venus had been killed in front of them, and Sailor Mercury had been gone for too long to . . . to still be alive.

"Please, Rei," Sailor Moon begged, trying to pull her arm out of Mars's grip, "let's stop here, I don't want anyone else to die."

"We keep going," she replied curtly, tugging her princess's arm even harder. Sailor Mars knew she had to be strong—had to have the strength to protect Sailor Moon no matter what happened.

She couldn't let her know how afraid she was. She couldn't let Sailor Moon see through her eyes.

While Sailor Mars was a powerful warrior from a millennium passed, Hino Rei was still a frightened fourteen year old girl, one who was becoming increasingly afraid that it was her fate to painfully die in a frozen wasteland, sacrificing her life for nothing. She knew that there was no hope of walking away from Beryl's palace alive, and was certain that the mission Makoto, Ami, and Minako died for was a failure. Their weakened team of two was no match for the Dark Queen, and if Beryl had enough energy to raise Metallia . . .

But she couldn't let Sailor Moon know that. She couldn't let Sailor Moon know anything that she knew. She would dive headfirst into her destined role, even if it proved to be an endless void.

Sailor Mars heard the sound of Beryl's last two youma approaching them. She stopped, let her princess's arm go, and smiled weakly.

"I know we've always fought," she said, "but I want you to know that I'm glad I got to know you, Usagi-chan. I'll always cherish our friendship."

Sailor Moon wiped the tears from her face. "Rei-chan, why—"

"Just in case I die. I'd never rest if I missed my chance to say that."

Sailor Moon's strength returned to her and she stood. Mars managed a wink and smile before turning and walking back to the oncoming monsters.

"No!" Sailor Moon shouted after her, "Wait! I'll fight by myself. I'll get them and_ Queen Beryl. Go home, Rei-chan. Please, don't die."_

Mars shook her head. "You still have the big battle to fight," she said. "You can't be wasting energy on these two." The red planet's protector gave a bittersweet grin and laughed sardonically. "Besides," she said, "I've always been the strongest Sailor Soldier. Who says I'm going to die? I'll get rid of these guys in a second. Just make sure you get to Beryl—I don't want to have to do all your work for you."

With that, Sailor Mars turned to face the two youma. They were only about forty-five yards from her now, and closing in quickly. She charged a Fire Soul, but they dived underground before she could release her attack. "Too fast," she grunted, spinning to see where they were going to come up.

Suddenly, Sailor Mars felt the ground burst up from under her. Huge walls of ice formed on either side of her and fell into a pyramid. One of the youma was inside the frozen prison with her, and the other one . . .

The other one was rushing towards Sailor Moon!

Sailor Moon was paralyzed with fear, watching helplessly as the demon closed in on her. She reached for her tiara, but the youma grabbed her arm and wrenched the weapon away from her. It lifted a large, clawed hand over her head and grinned evilly.

In her dazed state, Sailor Moon heard a voice that seemed to come from a million miles away:

"FIRE SOUL!"

The youma barely had a chance to turn around before it was incinerated alive by Sailor Mars's attack. Mars smiled, but her celebration was short lived as the other beast cracked a vine-like arm over the back of her head. Mars's world went blurry. She felt something sharp dig into her sides at the same time the youma punched her in the stomach. More vines grew from the demon's body to batter her, and despite her best effort, she fell to the ground, her face buried in the cold snow and her warm blood.

The youma turned around, leaving her for dead. Sailor Mars felt dead, almost wished she was dead, but there was something she had to do first. She lifted a crimson arm in the air . . .

The monster leapt off the ground and floated to Sailor Moon. It was about to shoot a sharp branch at the princess, when a soft voice made it stop short.

Sailor Mars hung tightly onto one of the creature's dangling vines, a murderous glare in her eyes. "We're not done yet," she spat viciously, her free hand holding a large fireball.

The demon's shriek could be heard for miles as the flames consumed them both.

Sailor Mars's broken and scorched figure crashed onto the ice. She had done it. She had accomplished her purpose in life. Her princess, Sailor Moon, Meatball-headed Usagi was safe. Mars knew it was stupid, but she couldn't help but feel proud. Even though the fight with the youma was all for nothing. Even though their world was doomed.

Usagi was going to die today—Rei had seen it in a vision.

It was hard for Rei to feel too distraught; her prophetic abilities, combined with the natural peace of dying, had detached her from the world's concerns. Still, she felt sorry for Usagi. The princess had such a strong spirit and heart. Rei knew that Usagi wouldn't give up, even when it was all ending. Sailor Moon's stalwart faith would lead her up the steps to Beryl's throne and into oblivion. It would devastate Usagi when she discovered that she wasn't strong enough to survive.

Rei's body became numb to the Arctic cold. She saw a dazzling light in front of her eyes. "So this is what destiny looks like . . ."

. . . Rei snapped out of her trance and looked up at the world around her. She ran her delicate fingers across the park's smooth grass, filled her lungs with fresh air, and gazed into the bright noontime sky. Rei was alive. Ail and Ann's attack on Earth had consumed the days since her resurrection and memory's return, and Rei had never had the time to sit down and truly appreciate what happened to her on the North Pole until now. Her world was not a dream, not a vision in the embers. She was real, whole, alive.

Usagi quietly walked out from behind one of the trees near Rei and sat down next to her. "I saw you come into the park," she explained, "and I've been looking all over for you ever since." She paused, gauging Rei's reaction to see if she was still angry with her. "Is everything alright?" Usagi asked.

Rei looked into her eyes and smiled. "You really did it," she whispered.

"Did what?" Usagi asked.

"You saved me . . . saved everyone." Rei shook her head in amazement. "I was stupid," she said. "I never thought you could beat Metallia. I was sure you were going to die."

Usagi shrugged. "I did," she said, having never paid the idea much thought. "We all did, but our power was strong enough to bring us back. It wasn't just me, Rei-chan. We did it together, and our friendship brought us all back." The two sat silently for a moment before Usagi spoke again. "I'm sorry I went on about Mamoru. You know I would never try to hurt you, Rei. I had just forgotten that you and he—"

"It's not that," Rei interrupted. "I'm not still in love with Mamoru. I don't think I ever seriously was. We only went out a few times, and even then I could feel that he was distracted by something . . . someone."

"We all remembered the Silver Millennium," Usagi said. "In the back of our minds, we all knew."

"And you two were meant to be together. I remember being so happy for you, even if the people of Earth were distrusted on the Moon Kingdom."

Usagi giggled. "You were the first person I ever told about Mamo-chan," she said with a smile. "It was such a scandal—the princess of the moon in love with our rival's prince."

"I was so happy you trusted me," Rei replied with a mischievous grin, "no matter how much I wanted to tell the others."

"I could always trust you, Rei-chan," Usagi said, her voice taking a more serious tone. "Now please trust me. Tell me what's been bothering you. I'll do anything I can to help you, but you have to open up first."

Rei grew silent. She thought about her dreams, her visions— "Usagi," she finally said, "I'm afraid of my destiny."

"I don't understand."

Rei sighed. "My work at the temple, my dreams about Mamoru, clothes, shoes, food, shopping, arcades—they're all just distractions, things that let me think, if only for a moment or two, that I'm a regular girl, that I can have a normal life. I can't. None of us can. Rei's vision at the altar roared back into her mind. "I saw something in the flames," she told Usagi, "before you came over to the shrine. The actual meaning of the vision was cryptic, but it had a definite 'portent of doom' aura about it. Something big is coming, Usagi-chan—something more powerful than we've ever faced before."

Usagi was stunned. "Are you sure about this?"

Rei nodded. "I'm just afraid we won't ever get to rest—that we'll keep on fighting until something too strong comes along."

Usagi shook her head. "I don't know what's going to happen," she said, "but I do know that we're a lot stronger than we think sometimes. I think that our strength will surprise us more than our enemies' ever could." Usagi paused in thought for a moment. "Besides," she said, "that means I _will_ get to see Mamo-chan in his cute tuxedo again."

Rei flopped on her back, bursting out laughing. "Only you, Usagi," she said grinning.

Usagi smiled and lay down on her stomach, gazing into the sky. "We're going to be able to beat it, Rei-chan. After all, with your strength . . ."

". . . and _yours_, princess . . ."

". . . and all of ours," Usagi said. "We've faced the destruction of the world before."

"Twice," Rei added with a grin. She leaned over and hugged Usagi, and the two friends smiled at each other. "You know, Meatball-head," Rei said, snickering, "every once in a while, you're not all that bad of a leader."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Usagi said, standing in mock offense. "I've saved your life more times than I can count."

"Not too often, then," Rei retorted with a wink.

Usagi stood in a fake regal pose. "Do not forget," she said in her best imitation of a bad British accent, "I am your _princess_."

Rei hopped to her feet. "But _I'm_ the strongest Sailor Soldier."

"You wanna test that, Rei-chan?"

The two friends strolled out of the park, laughing and arguing with one another. They were both walking into an uncertain, frightening, and dangerous destiny, but neither of them was afraid. Whatever dark and evil forces came, they would face them together.

And light-years away, a black moon began to cast its shadow on Earth . . .


End file.
